Russian dies while on diving trip to Sounds

Photo / Janna Dixon

Russian tourist visiting New Zealand on a guided dive trip is dead and a 4-year-old girl is recovering in hospital after she nearly drowned at a public swimming pool.

The two incidents have a top water safety official concerned and follow the death of 16-year-old Sam Goodenough, who died on Tuesday, five days after he tried to hold his breath underwater in a game with friends.

Picton police said authorities were still trying to contact the family of the Russian 58-year-old, who died on Thursday after diving in the Marlborough Sounds.

It is still unclear how the experienced diver died but it is understood she collapsed after getting out of the water at Port Gore.

The 4-year-old girl was swimming with family at the Mt Maunganui Hot Saltwater Pools on Wednesday.

She was pulled out after being submerged for about 10 seconds while her father was not looking.

An ambulance was called and she was admitted to Tauranga Hospital's intensive care unit.

Yesterday, she was understood to have been moved to the paediatric unit and to be in a stable condition.

Water Safety NZ general manager Matt Claridge was concerned the tally of 11 water deaths since Christmas was nearly on a par with the road toll of 13 over the same period.

It was "down to luck" that the number wasn't greater, with most lives lost in the water because of poor decision-making or people not taking basic safety precautions.

"It's obviously hot and people are so excited about being around water that they forget what they should be doing or what equipment they should have," Mr Claridge said.

"I may be sounding like a broken record but there really needs to be a cultural shift; people need to be more vigilant."

He said nearly 40 per cent of the annual drowning toll happened in January and February.

Most drowning victims were boaties or fishermen, and 80 per cent were male.

Meanwhile, Surf Lifesaving NZ chief Grant Florence said despite higher numbers of beachgoers, it was business as usual for the 80 surf patrols around the country.

He said lifesavers had been involved in about 330 surf rescues since operations began over Labour Weekend but the number of critical rescues was down on previous years.

More than 200 people have been pulled from the surf in the country's northern region, and the eastern and central regions of the North Island and the South Island have each recorded just over 40 rescues so far.

Surf lifesaving patrols have also been called on to deal with more than 500 first-aid situations.

james.ihaka@nzherald.co.nz

80 per cent of drowning victims are males.
40 per cent of annual drownings occur in January and February.
11 The number of drownings since Christmas.

Source: Water Safety NZA